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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

My mother and sister came back from the states so during our wait we had something to eat in the restaurant area. First you have to fight over a table when someone finally gets up as most people are camped there for hours taking up tables and chairs. Second you will have to find one of the cleaning guys and ask them to clean the tables. Third you will most likely have to do a balancing act with your food due to the broken tables.

These guys decided to stand and eat their meal

The tables will be left covered in food and trays for a long period of time before one of the cleaners will clean.

Everything is dirty

Even the chairs are covered in dirt and grime

The you deal with the trolley mafia

So my mom and sis took one huge trailer for their bags and due to eight planes landing at once it took them more than an hour to get out of the security area. My mom was leaving in a separate car so she took a small trolley and her hubby gave the trolley guy 2 KD. I led the trolley guy to my car and after loading the bags I asked him how much he wanted, at that time I had no idea he had been given 2 KD. He wouldn't answer me, so I asked him again, how much do you need? I pointed the '1 KD' sign on the trolley and he was like 1 KD is for company and I need money. So I asked him how much, again he refused to tell me. I had minimal cash with me at the time. I told him I have 2 Kd, 1 for the company and one for you. He started saying no I need more money, OK, how much do you need? It was humid and I was sweating and arguing with this guy when finally I said I have another half KD and that's it.

I don't understand why it has to be that way when they get a salary, yes it is a rather small salary, I get it but don't stand there and literally argue with someone for more money.

The airport is quite an embarrassing entrance to Kuwait. I can only imagine what new visitors are thinking when they step through the gates. The new airport can't come soon enough!

Saturday, July 23, 2016

While much of the continental United States is baking in high heat and humidity, there is at least one spot on Earth dealing with far more intense heat.

On Thursday and Friday, with a strong area of high pressure parked across the Middle East, high temperatures soared above 125 degrees Fahrenheit, or 51.6 degrees Celsius, in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and western Iran.

In the community of Mitribah, Kuwait, the high temperature rocketed to a record-setting 129.2 degrees Fahrenheit, or 54 degrees Celsius.

On Friday, Basra, Iraq, which has a population of more than 1 million, also hit 129.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

If the World Meteorological Organization verifies these records, they would become the hottest temperature recorded on Earth outside of Death Valley, California, which holds the title of the hottest temperature on record.

This would make the Kuwait and Iraq readings the hottest temperature on record in the eastern hemisphere as well as the hottest on record in Asia.

The heat in Mitribah on Thursday looks legit, according to meteorologist Jeff Masters of Weather Underground, since the nearby city of Basra, Iraq, reached a high temperature of 128 degrees Fahrenheit, or 53.4 degrees Celsius, on Thursday as well.

The 1913 Death Valley record was 134.1 degrees Fahrenheit, or 56.7 degrees Celsius, and was set on July 10, 1913.

According to Weather Underground, there are questions about the accuracy of the Death Valley record, but it still stands as the global benchmark (at least for now).

If one were to discount the Death Valley reading entirely, the Basra and Mitribah records would then rank as the hottest temperature on record for the globe.

This historic heat is a sign of things to come due to human-caused climate change.

A study published in 2015 found that as global warming continues to boost temperatures and humidity levels, countries bordering the Persian Gulf may become virtually uninhabitable by the end of the century.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

When my friend was visiting from Qatar he showed me this artsycafé in Shuwaikh outside of Shuwaikh Market complex. It was so clean and bright filled with people reading and chilling. There was one guy who was sketching while he sipped his latte.

There are Kodak pictures of the invasion hung on string fastened by clothespins.

It's has a second floor with more seating

What a cute and creative space! You can find more on their website and IG @masaha13

Monday, July 18, 2016

Title: Free Jermaine Rogers. He is one of several U.S. citizens being held unjustly as prisoners in Kuwait.

This letter is being sent to as many outlets as possible to speak on behalf of US citizen and Army veteran, Jermaine Omar Rogers. Jermaine Rogers is a U.S. citizen unjustly being held as a prisoner in Kuwait jail with no sentence.

Jermaine served in the US Army for 10 yrs with the United States Chemical Core. After serving in the military he continued to serve his country by working as a military contractor in Kuwait for over 10 yrs with assignments in Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq in support of operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.

Jermaine's apartment was raided on 6 Oct 2015 under the allegations of selling drugs. The Kuwaiti CID kicked open the door of his apartment while Jermaine was asleep, destroyed his apartment and personal belongings to include a locker with herbs (I.e. raspberry leaves, oregano from the kitchen and various teas, tobacco shisha and other spices were discovered and confiscated. They were said to be a "tobacco-like" substance called chemical. There was also a large sum of Jermaine's monetary savings from his dog kennel. Jermaine Rogers is a dog breeder and trainer holding multiple certifications in training military and protection dogs that he has imported over the course of many years into Kuwait to be trained as guard dogs. His hard earned savings for over 9 years of work overseas was confiscated, which they accused him of money laundering.

The "tobacco-like" substance was sent to the lab for analysis along with Jermaine's blood pressure medicines, and various prescription pills that were all still inside prescription bottles. There was a total of seventeen items tested which all came back with no traces of drugs or illegal substances according to Jermaine's lawyer. Jermaine has provided the necessary proof to show that the money he had was income from the dog kennel and the money he has been saving to finally come home as he was due to in Dec of 2015. He also provided proof that everything he had could be purchased online therefore; nothing in his possession at the time of his arrest was illegal.

---I will keep my thoughts to myself but you can read the whole story here

Thursday, July 14, 2016

It's summer, it's hot and there isn't much to do. I recently took my girls to Dubai for a few days and since returning I haven't got back into blogging quite yet. It's too hot to explore which means I am indoor watching my TV shows from the states. I am a nerd and downloaded Pokemon even though it was never my thing as a teen, I'm waiting for the Garbage Pail Kids Go app, that would be awesome.

Monday, July 4, 2016

KUWAIT, July 3 (KUNA) — In a successful blow to the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, Kuwait security agencies have carried out three pre-emptive operations in Kuwait and abroad that led to derailing a number of IS plots targeting Kuwait and arresting several IS members.

In the first operation, the security agencies arrested IS member Talal Naif Raja, a Kuwaiti national born in 1998, who was planning to carry out several terrorist bombing operations against a Jaafari mosque in Hawali Governorate and a Ministry of Interior’s facility.

After his arrest, Raja provided detailed information to the security agencies about his plots. He admitted that he has sworn allegiance to IS group and has received instructions from an IS leading figure abroad and planned to execute the scheme at the end of the holy month of Ramadan or during the first days of Eid Al-Fitr, expected to start July 6.

Raja noted that he was ordered to come in person or send a young recruit, unknown to security people, to receive the explosive belt, others explosives or to purchase a rifle or machine gun to use in the terrorist operations in Kuwait.

In the second operation, the security agencies managed to arrest abroad and bring back home terrorist Ali Mohammad Omar, a Kuwaiti national born in 1988, his terrorist mother Hessa Abdullah Mohammad, a Kuwaiti national born in 1964, and his son from a Syrian wife.

After repeated attempts, the Kuwaiti security agencies succeeded in busting them and bringing them back despite the intensity of the terrorist operations in the area on the Syrian-Iraqi border, the statement said.

Omar confessed that he has joined the IS group after upon incitement from his mother who also incited his older brother Abdullah, a Kuwaiti national born in 1991, to join the terrorist group. He added that his brother Abdullah was killed in terrorist battle in Iraq.

He unveiled that he left Britain, where he was studying petroleum engineering, after the death of his brother Abdullah and travelled along with his mother to Raqqa in Syria where they joined the terrorist group.

He added that the group assigned him to be in charge of operating oil and gas fields there and his was educating IS members’ wives and children and incite psychologically and ideologically to adopt terrorism.

The statement pointed out that the arrested terrorists had admitted that they have supervised and offered the logistical support to several terrorist operations.

In the third operation, the security agencies busted a four-member IS cell in Kuwait. The statement noted that three of the cell members were arrested, two nationals, namely Mubarak Fahad Mubarak, born in 1994 and Abdullah Mubarak Mohammad, who was born in 1992 and works in the Ministry of Interior, and an unnamed citizen of an Asian country. It added that the fourth member, a Gulf national, is still at large.

It disclosed that security investigators have received information that the first defendant Mubarak was hiding a metal box in a small farm in Al-Wafra area, southernmost of Kuwait, belongs to the second defendant Mohammad. It added that the box was later moved to several other farms in the same area.
After raiding the cell, the security forces found two Kalashnikov machineguns, ammunitions and an IS flag in the box.

The arrested terrorists admitted that the Gulf nationals has brought the IS flag to the box of the weapons and confessed their role in the plot. The Ministry said that the arrested terrorists in the three operations were referred to relevant authorities.

It concluded that the security people thanks to the help of Kuwaiti people and the trust of political leadership will continue their readiness to to maintain the state security and people safety.

A while ago there was an open spot of land in Messila that attracted RV campers and was once used for the kite gathering on the weekends. I guess someone got upset people were using the land and have recently set up barriers and it looks like they will surround the property with a metal fence to keep people away from enjoying the beach. That piece of land has been vacant since I came to Kuwait but rich people are greedy and want to keep everything to themselves, even nature.

This is what it looked like before, a few months after this picture there were around 20 RVs parked there.

I saw someone complaining about RVs on IG @q8needsyou as well, it's in Arabic but I can make out he was talking about them closing the beach access. If it's such a bad idea then let the owners of the empty land charge the campers to park there which would make them money.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Dubai: Avon’s Chief of Police Richard Bosley has apologised to Emirati businessman Ahmad Al Menhali, who was detained by armed police in front of a hotel entrance after he was mistaken for a Daesh member.

In a face-to-face meeting captured on video, the chief, along with a police department official, apologised directly to Al Menhali.

“No one from the police department [meant] to disrespect you, that was the not the intent of the actions of our officers. It’s a very regrettable circumstance that occurred for you. You should not have been put in that situation like you were,” said Bosley in a 29-second video posted on Twitter.

The accompanying official has said: “There were some false accusations made against you and those are regrettable, and I hope somewhere within your heart that the person that made those can maybe learn from those…and maybe in terms of another meeting we can get together.

”The incident happened on June 29 around 6pm when a female clerk working at the Fairfield Inn and Suites called 911 alleging that a hotel patron pledged allegiance to Daesh.

A report in the UK’s The Independent newspaper reported that the businessman identified as Ahmad Al Menhali 41, is from Abu Dhabi and is in the US for medical reasons.

The drama, as it happened was captured by a police bodycam and was aired by News Channel 5. The incident was also reported by several American media outlets.

The video showed that the police officers carrying assault rifles approached the hotel entrance where a man dressed in Kandoura and Arab headdress was talking on phone in Arabic. Full story

--- Good job America! That's what happens when uneducated people can't tell the difference between a normal person and a terrorist. I bet he will never step foot in the U.S. again!

KUWAIT CITY, July 2: At a time when many countries in the region are anxious and watchful about possible terrorist attacks, Kuwait’s security apparatus have received a message of utmost concern from the CIA indicating terrorist attacks could be carried out in sensitive locations inside Kuwait in the next few days or weeks, says Al- Seyassah daily quoting sources.

The same sources noted details of the message have not been received but the Kuwaiti security command has immediately stepped up the level of readiness and concerned officers have fortified the oil installations at the wells and refineries, patrolling the locations around the clock.

They did not rule out possibility that the decision of the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs to ban Eid Al-Fitr prayers in open spaces might be connected to the recent development, and it’s more instructive considering that the country just observed the first year memorial of the bombing of Imam Al-Sadeq Mosque.

They continued that the ministry has been positioning security operatives at strategic locations on major roads and areas close to prominent cooperative societies, shopping malls and recreational parks.

----The British embassy has sent out warnings to their citizens and I'm sure the US embassy has as well. So, for those of us staying Kuwait, it seems like we are under lock down?